Egon Bittner Biography

World of Criminal Justice on Egon Bittner

A leading scholar in the emerging field of criminal justice, Egon Bittner is recognized primarily for his theory of the role of the police. Bittner's contributions to the field also include membership on a number of commissions such as the National Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, editorship of several sociological journals, and research for the Police Foundation Project on Police Effectiveness in Problematic Situations. Bittner was born in Skrecon, Czechoslovakia in 1921. He immigrated to the United States in 1949, married two years later, and became a naturalized citizen in 1955. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles, he began his teaching career at its Riverside location. From 1963-68, he taught at the University of California Medical School. He then moved to Brandeis University in Massachusetts, where he held a variety of positions, including Harry Coplan Professor in the Social Sciences, acting chair of...